Teachers, pupils on mission to tackle racism in Australian schools

Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with people from about 270 different cultural backgrounds making their homes here.

A total of 45 per cent of Australians were born overseas, or have at least one parent who was born overseas.

Following a series of high-profile racist incidents in 2013, the discussion around racism has surfaced again as an important area of public policy.

But is enough being done to address racism and prejudice in our schools?

The ABC spoke to a young principal who turned around the fortunes of a western Sydney school plagued by violence, gangs and drugs, and the hip hop artist fronting a new video campaign aimed at helping young people fight racism.

Music with a message: What you say matters

In an effort to tackle racism, the Australian Human Rights Commission has released a new hip hop video aimed at young people.

The commission launched the What You Say Matters video clip in conjunction with hip-hop artist Shannon Williams - aka Brothablack.

He says the video clip is one way to get the message out.

"This is what we're aiming to do. It's about racism. We want to talk to young kids so we created a video clip to get the message out there, that this is wrong," he said.

This is what we're aiming to do. It's about racism. We want to talk to young kids so we created a video clip to get the message out there: that this is wrong.

Shannon Williams aka Brothablack

For Mr Williams, the project was close to home.

"Growing up in south-west Sydney in the early '80s as a young Aboriginal child, definitely I've faced a lot of racism and a lot of stereotyping," he said.

"And I've had to educate people about my people and who I am and where I come from."

The video clip features students from James Meehan High School in Macquarie Fields, south-west Sydney.

Mr Williams said the students involved based the scenes on their own experiences of racism.

Some of the students involved found the experience confronting.

"I've had a lot of racist comments thrown at me in the past about my culture and I feel that what people say does matter. Because it does affect people in the long run," said Year 11 Indigenous student Saraya Fauvette.

Deputy principal Noel Plunkett said James Meehan High School did not have racism issues because it was a small, culturally diverse school.

"I think schools that perhaps don't have as much of a cultural diversity, one group can feel they have the right to make comments about groups in society and that can become quite damaging when those kids go out to work and out to study further on in life," he said.

"I think a project like this is very useful in getting at least one resource out there to schools, for schools to access that they can show to kids."

In 2011, under the Gillard government's multicultural policy The People of Australia, the government committed to develop and implement a National Anti-Racism Strategy.

The Racism – It Stops With Me campaign asks people to take personal responsibility to challenge racism when they see it occur but also challenge themselves, says Kate Lundy, Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

"It's designed very much to have great role models delivering really strong anti-racism messages as well as a way of educating and empowering people to confront racism when they see it occurring around them," she said.